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War of the Rebellion: Serial 106 Page 1096 OPERATIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST. Chapter LXII.

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and Captains Jordan and Wood to accept positions of field officers of California volunteerse. It is of importance. Can you see if any answer has yet been given?

IRVIN McDOWELL,

Major-General.

CUSTOM-HOUSE, COLLECTOR'S OFFICE.

San Francisco, December 14, 1864.

Major General IRVIN McDOWELL.

Commanding Department of the Pacific:

GENERAL: In reply to so much of General Vega's letter to you, under date of 2nd ultimo, as relates to myself, I beg leave to say that I do not remember to have had any conversation with General Vega except upon three occasions. Each of these intervies, if they can be called such, were sought by himself. He was first introduced to me by Mr. Brown, special agent, in my office, in July last. He called upon me the next day, by his own appointment, at the Russ House. In October he again called upon me, accompanied by Mr. Pacheco, at the Orleans Hotel in Sacramento. On the occasion of his first two visits the subject of the export of arms was mentioned. I informed General Vega of the existence of Executive orderse forbidding the export, and stated the same would be enforced by me. The matter was not pressed. At Sacramento no allusion was made to it. I have met General Vega two or three times in the street and once at a mass meeting in Platt's Hall, but these were casual meetings, at which we had no conversation. This comprises all the personal or official intercourse I ever had with General Vega directly. Subsequent to his first two visits, Messrs. Beale and Brown made application, as they said, in behalf of General Vega for the export of arms with what success the correspondence between those gentlement and myself-copy of the remainder of which, not yet furnished you, I inclose-will show. Mr. Barnes and General Frisbie as friends of General Vega, called to see me several times on the same subject. My answer to them was that the matter was with the Government, and that nothing could be done without its direction. Mr. Barnes also applied to know the amount of duties on the arms in bond. I referred him to the superintendent of warehouses, who I believe furnished the required information. Again on my way to my office Mr. Barnes accosted me, and said it was hard for General Vega to be out of his money in these arms, and asked if there was no remedy; if he could not dispose of them. I replied that I knew of none, unless the Government if it should want the arms, might possibly purchase them; that General Vega's case had gone to Washington, alluding to the fact that Mr. Conness, as I was informed, had taken with him General Vega's first letter to you-which I have never seen, and of the particular contents of which I am not yet advised-and had interested himself in the matter. Something like this I wrote on the back of Mr. Barnes' confidential note to General Vega, but he makes no mention of this or of General McDowell's memorandum upon the same paper, both of which were intended, but it would seem failed, to correct General Vega's impressions caused by Mr. Barnes' note that General McDowell and myself had telegraphed the Government concerning the arms. I did not cal in my brother to act as interpreter. General Vega brought an interpreter with him. Just as he was leaving on the occasion of his first interview my brother came in. It was by General Vega's express request that he was present the next day at the Russ